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Today we are going to learn another fun thing to do with brushes. This tutorial will start by showing you how to create a brush by using the “Custom Shape” tool, but if you already have a brush you want to use to create your random scatter, you can skip to step 3. Let’s get started!

Step 1:

Click on your “Custom Shape” tool and select the shape that you want to use for your brush. It doesn’t matter what size you make the shape, you can adjust the size after it is a brush.

Step 2:

For this tutorial, I made a brush using a seahorse shape. If you hold ‘Shift’ while making your shape, it will make a perfectly proportioned shape. At the top click “Edit” then scroll down to “Define Brush Preset”. Click this and you will get a pop up window to name your brush. I tend to leave mine as the default name. Name your brush and click “OK”.

Step 3:

Click on your “Brush” tool. If you just created your brush, it will default to the last brush on the pop up window. If you did not just make your brush, select the brush that you want to use.

Step 4:

Click on “Window” and then “Brush” to open your brush options.

Step 5:

Click on “Brush Tip Shape” at the top of the Brush options window. Only adjust the “Spacing”, at the bottom of the window. I usually set mine about 200% to begin with. You can adjust this later, depending on how you want your finished scatter to look.

Step 6:

Just below “Brush Tip Shape” is an option called “Shape Dynamics” with a check box next to it. Click it. At the top is a slider labeled “Size Jitter”. Adjust this to approximately 75%, keeping an eye on the preview window at the bottom to judge how you want your scatter to look. This option adjusts if each time the brush makes a mark is the same size.

Step 7:

Now just below “Shape Dynamics” is another little check box called “Scattering”. Click this box. At the top of that window there will be a check box labeled “Both Axes” make sure that is checked and adjust the slider. Again, keep an eye on the preview window and use your judgement for how you want your scatter to look. I usually set mine around 750%.

Your scatter brush is now ready! Go ahead and open a new document and try it out. I tend to make a brush stroke from the top left corner to the bottom right corner, but that is just me. You can play around with this, add effects, layer it and color each one differently, add texture or combine it with another splatter brush of a different shape. Make it your own, and enjoy it!